🎉 Evening Gathering with the Class of '72! 🎉<>>

Let's keep the good times rolling with another casual get-together! We're inviting you to join us for a laid-back evening as we catch up and enjoy each other's company.

Date: July 26th, 2024
Time: 5:00 - 8:00 PM
Location: Big Barn Brewing Company
16004 N Applewood Ln, Mead, WA 99021
Food by: 509 Dine
Music by: Reynuetta & Dave

No need for formalities - just bring your smiles and stories, and let's make some more memories together. Whether you've been to every gathering or this is your first, you're always welcome to join in the fun.

Remember our fantastic 50th class reunion there two years ago? Up on Green Bluff, under the stars on a perfect summer evening? Let's recreate that magic and add some new memories. 

Please let us know if you can make it by calling/texting Debbie Smith 509-389-0517 or Gail Allbright  509-994-6382.  We want to make sure we have enough space set up for everyone. 

Note: Due to limited seating availability, please bring your own lawn chair.

We're looking forward to seeing familiar faces and sharing some laughs!

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Here are our Class group photos!!   

We all had such a wonderful time!! Lots of Fun memories!!  

  (Much more to come....Working on uploading to the Gallery soon!!) 

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We are still looking for classmates who have not yet joined our website.  If you know of a missing classmate, or even a classmate who may not have walked with us on graduation day, but were classmates during their grade school, junior high years or even up to a Junior in high school year and you are in contact with them, please share our website (www.mead72.com) and invite them to join.  We would love to see them at our 50^th reunion in 2022!!-

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We are grateful to share with you that because of a generous classmate donation, we have been able to secure the venues for a most memorable and fun reunion. A reunion that we hope will appeal to everyone!

Dates--September 9th-10th 2022!

Our casual “Meet and Greet” is on Friday, September 9th  from 4:00-8:00 pm.   An outdoor, late summer evening with live music from Dirk Swartz- Land of Voices. A no-host cash bar and a plentiful menu of delicious food from 509 Dine. It will be held at Big Barn Brewing on Green Bluff.  16004 N Applewood Ln, Mead, WA 99021

$20.00 per person. (covers the cost of your meal)

WE ARE A FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED BUSINESS ON GREEN BLUFF IN THE FOOTHILLS OF MT. SPOKANE. WE VALUE HOME GROWN INGREDIENTS AND HOME SPUN RECIPES. COME HAVE A BEER MADE FROM LOCALLY SOURCED INGREDIENTS IN OUR TAP HOUSE OR GET FRESH PRODUCE FROM OUR FARM TO TAKE HOME.

http://www.bigbarnbrewing.com/

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Our Marvelous 50^th Reunion Banquet is Saturday, September 10th from 4:00-9:00pm at the recently renovated Centennial Hotel (formerly The Inn at the Park). The evening includes a no-host bar, hors d'oeuvres and a spectacular buffet dinner. The evening give us an extended time to visit with classmates in the beautiful Skyline Ballroom overlooking all of Spokane. Bring your Trivia hats with you!  Entertainment provided by Bent Trivia and prizes provided by your Reunion Committee!

$45.00 per person.

"Located in the heart of downtown and just steps from the Spokane River and Centennial Trail, The Centennial by Davenport Hotels is focused on providing you unique and memorable experiences. The closest hotel to the Spokane Arena, you’ll also find yourself within walking distance to the Convention Center, U-District, downtown shops and restaurants. Here, your stay will be surrounded by a contemporary aesthetic paired with Pacific Northwest flair – an ideal home base for all your (and your dog’s) Spokane adventures. Curiosity is the only compass you’ll need."

https://www.davenporthotelcollection.com/the-centennial/

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A Milestone! A Celebration!

Our 50^th High School Reunion!!

(Stay Tuned-Location and Date to be announced soon!)

 Welcome 'Mead 72' classmates and invited guests! We're glad you're here.  We are preparing for our 50th Class Reunion in 2022! Check here for class news, updates, reunion pictures and memories, also re-connect with old friends. Go to Classmate Profiles at the upper right side of this page or click on Join Here on the right side of this page next to this announcement, just under Sign In.  Click on your name and then click on "Join Here". Complete your personal profile & let us know what has happened in YOUR life over the past 45+ years or just say Hello if you prefer!    If you are a member of our class or an invited guest and haven't already registerd here, then please do and fill out your profile.

Note to classmates:  When you join, for your added privacy, you will have the abllity to allow only fellow Classmates to view your Profile  (this will keep both the public and private search engines out).

 Questions, Comments or Suggestions?  Contact Debbie Witiuk Smith Adminstrator debbie_smith7@comcast.net.

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10 YEAR REUNION CLASS PICTURE

 It's hard to believe that next year will be our 50th class reunion!!  1972 doesn't seem THAT long ago!  Can you help us find classmates?  It would be awesome to have as many as possible for our 50th reunion! If you go to Classmates Profiles on our Mead72.com website and see a classmate's name that does not have a symbol by it, then that is a classmate who does not know about our website.  I (Gail) have joined Classmates.com so that I can let any of our classmates know about our site. 

If you are friends with any of the classmates that are not on our site, then please reach out to them and let them know about Mead72.com.  We know they will enjoy reminiscing with the profiles and pictures of friends that are already there, and we can also keep them posted about our 50th reunion plans.  If each of us were to bring just one classmate to our site, then we would be well on our way to having an awesome reunion!!   

One of our classmates has very generously offered a substantial amount of money to be used towards the deposit on a venue, so we will be able to hold our 50th reunion at a very classy place because we are a very classy class!  How exciting!!   

Let's make this our best reunion by finding classmates and getting them connected to our Mead72.com site!!     Debbie and Gail

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We hope that this announcement finds you all Healthy and Safe from the Covid-19 virus that has us all hunkered down at home.

We thought that during this time we would create a fun "Find a Classmate" challenge as we look forward to our 50th Reunion! You will find our Missing Classmates list by clicking on the tab on left side of the home page. Join us in the Message Forum (click on the Message Forum link on the left side of this home page) to let us know who you are going to find and then let us know if you have found them.  Be sure to invite your found Classmate to join our site! 

Its Free to Join!  

By using the Message Forum we can keep an open discussion going and have fun with this Challenge. It would be fun for a classmate to challenge another classmate to find a friend from high school to join our site. For example " I choose Gail Van Leuven Allbright to find  (Classmate)!  

When you challenge a classmate be sure to include their whole name on the Message Forum so that they receive the Challenge via an email from our site.       

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The Mead School District continues to grow!  In September 2020, the district will add an elementary school near Market Street (on our old high school site) and a middle school on Five Mile Prairie.  A sports complex is also going to be built on our old high school site;  our old high school building serves as the Boys/Girls Club center. The district, also in September 2020, will change all elementary schools to grades K-5 and middle schools togrades 6-8. Currently, there are 8 elementary schools (Brentwood, Colbert, Evergreen, Farwell, Meadow Ridge, Midway, Prairie View, and Shiloh Hills), two middle schools (Mountainside and Northwood), and two high schools (Mead and Mt. Spokane). The district also has a STEM Academy school, an alternative school, and 2 Mead Education Partnership Program Schools.  

The district's motto is "Learn. Lead. Mead" and their vision statement is "In everything Mead does, we have a passion to position our students for success now and in the future.  We do this through a commitment to providing each student with an outstanding education, building and maintaining safe schools and partnering with our community."  Mead School District is a public school system serving the North Spokane Community for over 100 years. 

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**Pictures have now been uploaded to our website.  Be sure to click on the 40th and 45th reunion link above in the righthand corner***      We had a great time enjoying each others company at a fun location.  If anyone has any pictures from the evening and would like to add them to our site, please forward to us. 

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We are so excited to see everyone at our 45^th Reunion, a summer evening of dinner, memories, laughter and friendship!!!  

 August 12th 2017 is just 5 weeks away!!

  We have a few items to let you know about for our event: 

• In order to have enough servers, Twiggs has requested a final count, so even if you have RSVP’d already, we would like to request you to send Gail (gailsgotmail@aol.com) or Debbie (Debbie_smith7@comcast.net) a confirmation email if you and/or a guest are coming.  Please send by August 1^st.

• Due to the size our event, we have selected a delicious offering from a limited menu for dinner, as well as drinks to be ordered from the servers…”no host bar”.

• Many of us have enjoyed our Mead72 website for many reasons, some are to stay in touch with our classmates and to know when we are getting together.  It is paid up to our 50^th Reunion.  We will be providing a donation box for those of you who would like to donate to keep our website active for another 5-10 years beyond the 50^th reunion.  

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After Much searching, we are pleased to let you know that we have found a great place for our

45th Reunion!!

It's Twigs Bistro and Martini Bar at Wandermere!  401 E Farwell Road Spokane, Wash

We have a room reserved for our reunion so that we can enjoy dinner, drinks and time together!

We are excited to know that so many of us are coming at this time and we'd love to hear that even more of you will attend!

August 12, 2017

5:00pm

There will be more information to follow regarding the available menu.

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Forwarded from Scott Eymer Class of 1970 

	Greetings, Today is Pearl Harbor Day....the 75th anniversary.  In Spokane, Ray Garland is being honored.  He is the last living military veteran on the membership roster of the Lilac City Chapter of Pearl Harbor Survivors.  At one time the chapter had 125 active members from all over the Inland Empire.  Ray, age 94, is classmate Cheryl Garland's father.  He lives in Coeur d'Alene.   Joel Wells reminded me of the connection.  It's important we remember and reflect.   Scott

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Mead vs. Mt. Spokane in Battle for the Bell Mead vs. Mt. Spokane in Battle for the Bell GSL football game at Joe Albi Stadium,

Friday, Sept. 30, 2016.

Read the story at: http://www.spokesman.com/galleries/2016/sep/30/mead-vs-mt-spokane-in-battle-for-the-bell/

If any of you were able to attend the game and have a story to share for us, please do!

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 “Hello Summer!”  -  Saturday June 18, 2016  from 6-9pm -- Join us at The Onion Bar & Grill North Spokane for dinner. Spokane's original Bar and Grill! Located at 7522 N Division St. Spokane WA 

We had such a fun time seeing each other @ 2^nd Tuesday!  We all agreed it would be great to see each other again in 3 months! 

Come join us for drink and dinner in the Poole Room.

This is a fun occasion to enjoy and spend time together! 

Please come, it's a no-host casual evening to catch up with old friends!

Email Debbie Witiuk Smith @ debbie_smith7@comcast.net or Gail Van Leuven Allbright @ gailsgotmail@aol.com to RSVP or if you have any questions. This is so that The Onion can be sure to have enough servers for our group.  

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"2nd Tuesday"  on March 8th 2016@ 5:30pm -- Join us at The Onion Bar & Grill North Spokane for dinner. "Spokane's original gourmet burgers & brew - established 1978"!  Located at 7522 N Division St. Spokane WA 

A fun occasion to enjoy and spend time together! 

Come join us for drink and dinner in the Poole Room.

(Happy Hour ends at 6:00pm. This is a non-hosted informal get-together).

Please come, it's a casual evening to catch up with old friends!

Email Debbie Witiuk Smith @ debbie_smith7@comcast.net or Gail Van Leuven Allbright @ gailsgotmail@aol.com to RSVP or if you have any questions. This is so that The Onion can be sure to have enough servers for our group.  

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       In reading the news articles that dealt with the levy failures in the Mead School District, the Spokesman-Review had reported in 1972 that four special levies had been run, with all four failing.  Two of the levies were run in 1970, and the last two were run in 1971.  (Levies are run by school districts to help fund expenses not covered by state or federal funding, such as extracurricular activities or subjects outside of the reading, math and written language requirements.  The levies do not fund into the school district until the following year.  Our senior class ended up dealing with these financial losses, which meant our sports, foreign language classes, and yearbook (to name a few) were all lost.  Many classmates left so that they could attend other high schools as a senior and not have to worry about their college credits being affected.

     The articles in the Spokesman-Review also mentioned the fact that the WEA was sanctioning our district due to the "substantial or unsatisfactory" educational standards. (We think we all turned out quite well in spite of the hardships!!!)  Cash Stone was quoted as saying, "It was horrendous.  I don't want anyone to experience what we went through."  The paper went on to say that "The Mead School District was implementing draconian changes on the heels of two consecutive years of levy rejections.  Cutting nearly a third of its teaching staff.  Eliminating all electives and extracurricular activities.  Going from six class periods a day to five."

     Carol Tadlock, who is working on a history of the Mead School District, was able to tell me that Mel Griffith, one of our teachers, was jailed while out on strike (protesting these cuts due to the levy failures).

     In the meantime, please feel free to share your memories of our senior year and how the levy failures affected you.  Go to the message forum and post your thoughts about our senior year and the effects of the levy failures in the school story section.  We are looking forward to reading your remembrances!

     Today, the Mead School District enrolls approximately 9,420 students.  There are two high schools, Mead High (302 W. Hastings) and Mt. Spokane High (E. Mt. Spokane Park Dr), as well as the Mead Alternative High School.  There are two middle schools, Northwood and Mead Middle (E. Day Mt. Spokane Rd). There are eight elementary schools:  Shiloh Hills, Evergree, Prarie View (on Five Mile), Farwell, Colbert, Midway, Brentwood, and Meadowridge.

     Back in "our" day, there was one high school (and that building currently houses the Boys & Girls Club), one middle school (which was Northwood), and six elementary schools (Colbert, Green Bluff, Evergreen, Whitworth, Farwell, and Five Mile).